Kemesha Woodfine Playing For Jamaica In CONCACAF U-20 Tournament

Dec 10, 2009

HAMDEN,
Conn. - Quinnipiac University women's soccer freshman and
Jamaica-native Kemesha Woodfine (Stamford, Conn.) is currently
representing her home country in the Women's U-20 CONCACAF
(Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association
Football) Tournament. Woodfine has appeared in three games for the
National U-20 squad so far, and has scored a goal and tallied an
assist during her time on the field.

"I believe when any player who has a passion for any sport are
called to represent their country it will be a proud moment for
them, just like it was for me," said Woodfine. "The greatest
feeling for me is right before the games when the Jamaican national
anthem is being played. It is a spectacular feeling to stand there
knowing that I am fortunate enough to represent my country because
I know it is something many people do not get the opportunity to
do."

Woodfine joined the team in early November and put in two training
sessions before heading to Trinidad and Tobago to take on Cuba on
Nov. 18 in the first game of the Caribbean Final Stage. Woodfine
saw 36 minutes of action against Cuba, where Jamaica prevailed,
1-0, and went on to play St. Kitts and Nevis on Nov. 20. Woodfine
got the start against St. Kitts, and scored the game's opening goal
just three minutes in to give her team the 1-0 lead. She went on to
assist the game's second goal, giving Jamaica the 2-0 victory. On
Nov. 22, Woodfine saw 27 minutes on the field against stage host,
Trinidad and Tobago, where the two teams played to a 1-1 draw.

Jamaica's 2-0-1 performance in the second round earned the team a
berth into the CONCACAF Women's U-20 Final Round to be played in
Guatemala City. Woodfine and her teammates will open the tournament
against the defending U-20 FIFA World Cup Champions, the United
States, on Jan. 21. They will also play Mexico on Jan. 23, and will
face off against Trinidad and Tobago again on Jan. 25. Eight teams
will play in the Final Round and the team with the best final
record after the five-day tournament will be dubbed the CONCACAF
Women's U-20 Champion. Guatemala, Cuba, Costa Rica, and Canada will
also be playing in the Final Round. The winner of the Final Round
will represent CONCACAF at the FIFA U-20 World Cup.

"We are always pretty confident going into the preliminary rounds
where we only play against other Caribbean teams," said Woodfine.
"My teammates and I were well-composed and ready for the
competition in Trinidad. I am pleased with my team's efforts
against the Caribbean teams, but we will definitely need to
continue our improvement for the upcoming games against strong
teams like the U.S. and Mexico."

This is not the first time Woodfine has represented her native
country on the soccer field. Two summers ago, the forward played
into the second round of the World Cup qualifiers with Jamaica. She
has also played with several of her teammates in club soccer.
Woodfine suffered an injury during the Quinnipiac mid-season and
struggled to come back to play in the Caribbean Final Stage, but
will continue to rehab and looks to play at full strength for the
Final Stage in January.

"I was not completely satisfied with my performance (in Trinidad),"
said Woodfine. "However, I am not too disappointed because I went
into the tournament hurt. I am grateful to have contributed a goal
and an assist, and I believe that I did fairly well given that it
was my first time after a month of rehab playing at match pace
again."

Woodfine was born in Portmore, Jamaica, but currently resides in
Stamford, Conn. The freshman played her high school years at The
Baylor School in Chattanooga, Tenn., and also suited up for the
East Ridge Soccer Association before coming to Quinnipiac. In her
rookie season for the Bobcats, Woodfine appeared in 11 games,
starting four of them. She contributed two goals for four points on
the year.